Establishing a Population-Based Obesity Registry for Effective Obesity Management in General Practice.

Eugene Merzon, Avivit Golan-Cohen, Shlomo Vinker, Ilan Green, Ariel Israel

Keywords: Obesity, Population-Based Registry, General Practice

Background:

The high prevalence of obesity and its lifelong nature necessitate the use of innovative technologies (IT) to support management, especially in primary care. The establishment of a population-based obesity registry may contribute to better obesity management. A registry provides comprehensive data, enables evidence-based decision-making, facilitates personalized care, allows for monitoring and follow-up, promotes research and quality improvement, and fosters collaboration among healthcare providers.

Research questions:

To develop a population-based obesity registry, utilizing electronic medical records (EMR) to analyze data on individuals with obesity.

Method:

The development of the registry was based on a retrospective review of EMR data from all LHS enrollees, including demographic information, anthropometric measurements, and comorbidities. This data was used to identify adult individuals with obesity, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above, and to classify them according to the WHO classification system.

Results:

A total of 114,028 individuals were identified. Mean age was 51.1 and 56.1% were females. The prevalence of chronic somatic and psychiatric comorbidities (diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disorders, ADHD, and depression) was significantly higher than described in the general Israeli population (27.4%, 8.1 %, 6.1%, and 5.9%; respectively p<0.001). The frequency of self-reported physical inactivity had a positive association with obesity staging (38.4 % for Obesity Stage 1; 45.9 % for Obesity Stage 2 and 52.4 % for Obesity Stage 3; respectively, p<0.001).

Conclusions:

The LHS obesity registry is a valuable resource to identify and target high-risk populations for intervention and prevention. Obesity registry may support comprehensive assessments, provide decision support, allow personalized behavioral, nutritional, and pharmacological interventions, and may enable remote monitoring and facilitate telemedicine.

Points for discussion:

Providing a comprehensive view of the prevalence and distribution of obesity within a population.

Providing a basis for measuring the outcomes of obesity management.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of different approaches and strategies.

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